Guide to Training Your New Puppy

Training your new puppy is one of the most rewarding experiences of owning a healthy, happy dog. If you’re looking for a guide to training a puppy, you’ve landed on the right page! Here are extensive instructions on the steps you need to take to prepare and maintain a devoted and well-adjusted pooch from the very first yip.

Before We Start...
New puppy owners regularly commit the mistake of stressing too much over the best puppy treats, toys or bed. They invest almost no energy into how or what they will teach their new puppy. Yes, a puppy needs proper nutrition and a protected, warm place to live, however you as an owner need to lead the puppy in the best direction so he may thrive in your home.

You’re the New Pack Leader

Puppies are normally hard-wired to take after a pack leader. A pack leader is, by definition, solid, stable, and reliable; qualities numerous new puppy owners overlook. Although your puppy is cute – we know how it is – you need to take control and be his leader.

Puppies sense our certainty levels and will take control when they observe us as powerless. When this happens, negative results will prevail, such as intemperate woofing, biting or leash pulling.

Being the leader doesn’t start when your pooch is six months old or when he’s just gotten into the trash; it needs to be kept up throughout the whole canine education process. For your new puppy to develop into a gentle, obedient pooch, you should exhibit authority from the very first moment!

Your Puppy’s First Visit to the Vet

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The first step in maintaining the health of your new best friend is to start with your puppy’s first visit to the veterinarian. It’s imperative that your puppy keeps up a wholesome eating and activity routine to stay healthy, and your vet can help guide you in figuring out proper nutrition and exercise. Additionally, your vet can guide you on heartworm, parvovirus, and bug and tick protection. While a ton goes into keeping your puppy healthy, everything starts with the primary visit to the vet.

Getting your puppy off on the right foot can be intense for another pooch proprietor, however his first outing to the vet is a vital stride in raising a puppy into a sound canine. Typically, you should start taking your puppy to the vet between 8 to 10 weeks of age. A full-body exam will be led to decide general well-being and antibodies are managed. These could incorporate immunizations for rabies, distemper, parainfluenza, bordetella and that’s just the beginning.

For puppies up to year old, you should visit the vet each three to four weeks until he’s 16 weeks old. At six months, another examination will be led to guarantee great well-being and appropriate socialization.

Housebreaking Your New Puppy

Housebreaking your new puppy may be the hardest jobs as a pet owner, but also one of the most important to do right. You should begin preparing for housetraining the minute you bring the puppy home. After the voyage, take pup out to a spot in the yard and let him sniff around. Should he happen to potty, reward him. Routinely take the puppy out to the yard (at regular intervals when possible, whether he is whining or not) and when he goes, give him praise.

Puppies normally need to potty around 20 minutes after they eat. This gives you a perfect opportunity to conduct some training. This early stage is about fortuitous praise and rewards. Reward your puppy when he potties outside. Take him to the same place every time, so the scent will urge him to go. Once he goes, reward him with praise, petting, treats or play.

Try not to stress your puppy by getting angry on the occasion that he doesn’t “get it” , and never rebuff him for going inside. Take your puppy outside as often as possible on a consistent timetable. A reliable timetable is the most ideal approach to maintain a distance from mishaps. Exceptionally youthful puppies ought to be taken out each hour, and additionally not long after dinners and snoozes. All puppies should be taken out first thing in the morning, just before you go to bed, and before they are restricted or left alone.

Puppies react differently to your emotional cues, so try to remain confident when it comes to housebreaking your new puppy. Punishing your canine for pottying in the house will just unnerve him and make it harder for him to learn. Consistency is the most ideal approach to prepare your new pup. A puppy can, more often than not, hold his bladder for the same number of hours as his age in months during the day, while puppies past 4 months should have the capacity to endure through most of the night.

Housebreaking techniques that are common but don’t work include:

Yelling at the dog angrily

Rubbing his face in his mess

Locking him in his crate

Housebreaking techniques that do work include:

Praise

Reward

Reinforcement

Anticipating mishaps may be your best chance at avoiding mistakes in the house. Some common signs that your puppy needs to potty include pacing, crying, sniffing and leaving the room. Get him outside as fast as possible.

Another approach may involve penning your puppy. If you have a mudroom, warm garage or another area in your house that’s safe and able to withstand accidents, pen your puppy up with some baby gates. Expanding the space when he doesn’t have an accident is a good way to reward him. After you let him out, make sure you immediately take him out to potty so he learns the difference between being let outside the pen and being let outside the house.

Training Your New Puppy to Walk on a Leash

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It takes order, consistency, and time to show your puppy how to walk well next to you, and to never pull on the chain or take off after squirrels. But, like with any training technique, you can teach your puppy the ropes!

To start, you’ll need a four to six foot leash. Retractable leashes (think; measuring tape), and those that are too long will make training more troublesome since they constantly tighten themselves. Standard leashes, which are available in a number of different fabrics including chain, nylon and leather, are the best option for your puppy. Consider the size, strength and weight of your dog. Certain materials used in a leash may weigh more than him (at this stage, at least), so choose appropriately.

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Types of Collars

Another important aspect in training your puppy to walk on a leash is the collar. There are tons of collars to choose from, and finding the right one is imperative in your pup finding his swag. There are tons of collars to choose from, such as:

The standard flat collar is the most common, normally made of nylon or leather. You may have trouble with these as some dogs have been known to slip out depending upon the material. The greyhound, for example, has a thicker neck than it does head, making it much easier for him to escape.

A Back clip harness collar is another common collar that fits as a harness around the dogs chest and clips on in the back. It’s great for shorter muzzled dogs, like a french bulldog or boxer who may be prone to tracheal collapse.

A Front clip harness once again is harnessed around the dog’s chest and prevents minor pulling.

A head halter is strapped around your puppy’s head and “leads” them better than a traditional collar. Because the pressure is taken off the neck and instead around their face, they are much less likely to pull.

There are four principal techniques to educate your pooch on how not to pull. Some work better with some pooches and some work better with others. In the event that you pick a strategy and aren’t gaining any ground, after a few weeks pick another one.

4 Techniques in Teaching Your Dog to Walk on a Leash

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Stop and go

This walking strategy involves stopping and rewarding your dog every time she puts slack in the leash. When walking, if your dog starts to pull, stop. Call her back to you and ask her to sit, reward her when she does this. Repeat this process every time your dog starts to pull. Another tactic that will help is rewarding your dog whenever she looks at you or walks closely by your side. You want the puppy to associate walking near you with treats, and pulling on her leash with stopping the walk. If she tugs to smell something, stop as usual, but instead of giving her a treat after she sits, let her explore the scent she was going for as her reward.

Lure and reward:

This walking strategy alters bad walking behaviors very quickly by rewarding the puppy often. Lure your puppy by placing a handful of food in front of his nose as he walks. While you’re saying “walk”, give your puppy a treat every few seconds. If he pulls, pause for a moment and command him back to you. After he starts getting the hang of it, start reducing his treat intake until it’s just your hand without any treats. As your dog learns the behavior and is able to practice it quickly and without frequent food rewards, you should be able to remove the food component and use it intermittently.

Watch this video for further explanation on the lure and reward to train your puppy:

About face

This walking strategy is primarily for puppies that struggle accomplishing the above methods. As your dog nears the end of her leash, command her to “slow”, if she does, reward her with a treat. If she continues to pull, turn abruptly and start walking the other way, letting the leash tug on your dog. As she comes back, turn and resume in the original direction. This method should work quickly. If pulling does not improve after a few sessions, try another method. Do not use this method with a head halter or pinch collar, as it may injure your dog.

Training Puppy Breeds: Golden Retriever

Golden retriever puppies are one of the most popular breeds of dog, for good reason. They’re kind, protective and beautiful. If you just bought a golden retriever puppy, you’re most likely looking for some breed-specific tips on training him. It’s best to start training as soon as possible, as golden retrievers have high levels of energy and require a lot of attention.

Golden retrievers are highly-intelligent and enjoy having their own space. If you’re thinking of crate-training your puppy, which you should (at least at this stage of his life), that’s great! A few rules of thumb for crate training your golden retriever: The size of the crate should only be large enough for them to be able to turn around and lie down. If you don’t want to purchase multiple crates as your Golden Retriever puppy grows, you can buy a large crate but create a barrier with a piece of heavy cardboard or sanded plywood so the accessible area they have is just large enough for them to be comfortable. Your Golden Retriever will soon see its crate as a safe and secure place to be, especially when you are away from home during the day to work.

Training Puppy Breeds: Labrador Retriever

Labradors are the most popular breed of dog, because they’re typically easy to train and are very loyal. However, because of their particular personality, training labrador puppies can sometimes be a struggle.

Michelle Welton, author of Teach Your Dog 100 English Words has some keen insight to the labradors behavior:“The most common problem when training Labrador Retrievers is over-enthusiasm. Many Labs are much more energetic than their owners thought they would be. Young Labrador Retrievers, in particular, can be boisterous and rambunctious and you will need to focus on calming them down, calming them down, calming them down. This can take a long time, because the Labrador Retriever matures slowly. He will act like a spirited teenager for two or three years.

Training your Labrador Retriever can take some strength on your part, because many Labs are built like bulls, with thick powerful necks. Training a Labrador Retriever to walk on a leash without pulling may be the most challenging exercise. Training them to stop jumping on people is another one you may really need to work on. And because Labs are retrievers, they are “mouthy” dogs. Give them plenty of toys to carry around so they won’t be tempted on chew on your household furniture instead.”

Try out the methods listed above for techniques in helping your labrador walk on his leash.

Training Puppy Breeds: Terriers

Even though they’re smaller, the terrier puppy’s personality — fearless and protective — can also make them difficult to train. Terriers were mainly bred to hunt and kill vermin, on their own, independent from human guidance. Your terrier, unlike most breeds, won’t consider you the “master” of them, instead they’re free spirits that just want to have a good time!

A terrier’s primary goal in life is to have fun, whether it’s playing fetch, gnawing on a bone, or just barking at passersby on the sidewalk. In addition to their intelligence and forethought, they grasp training commands quickly and get worn out by standard puppy training classes.

Alongside their sharp, curious personalities, terriers were reared to have outstanding strength and constancy. They don’t bow down to anything and that includes their proprietors! Pam says that it’s difficult to make a terrier accomplish something it wouldn’t like to, another impairment to standard preparing strategies. They likewise have a surprising (and disappointing!) capacity, in view of their sharp chasing senses, to enter in on something and block out everything else around them, including their proprietors’ charges.

Pam suggests that, for best results, a terrier ought to be very well socialized before beginning compliance class. Take your canine day by day for strolls on chain outside of his own yard and property. Give him a chance to see, listen, research and get used to new sights and sounds. Strolls make productive utilization of your terrier’s perpetual supply of vitality, as well.

To effectively prepare a terrier, Pam says, preparing must be quick paced, fun, and intended to exploit the canine’s common knowledge and interest. They get to be exhausted with redundancy. Their prompt response to anything that seems as though it ought to be pursued or examined causes them to totally overlook their preparation. Sense will dependably supersede their proprietors’ charges. Hence, Pam says, a terrier proprietor ought to never rely on upon submission training when the puppy is in a possibly unsafe circumstance.

Dynamic terriers require consistent activity and play to keep them sensible. Hitting or punishing a terrier simply doesn’t work, it just makes them determined and forceful. Rather, utilize psychology and remember that their main inspiration in life is to have a ton of fun – you should make it a good time for them whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish!

Proper Puppy Diet & Nutrition

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Your puppy is growing at the speed of light (not strictly speaking, of course) so building the proper diet around his breed, size, hunger and activity is a very important step in raising a puppy. Good nutrition is imperative in building strong muscles, bones, organs, teeth and supplying the energy he needs for learning. So what should you feed your puppy and how much? There are tons of options out there, so here’s a few solutions.

At about four weeks, you should switch your puppy’s food to solid. Most puppies are weaned at about six weeks. Puppies under eight weeks still may not be able to choke down solid food. If that’s the case, add some water to the solid food until it feels spongy. Puppy food is regulated by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, which sets nutrient requirements for most pet foods. A few signs that the food you’re using isn’t effective include a dull or lackluster coat, persistent whining by his bowl, and low energy. You should feed your puppy three times a day from weaning through four to six months. After six months, implement a twice daily feeding routine.

As with any puppy training strategy, you should consult your veterinarian on what he recommends for specific puppy food brand and type. Your puppy’s body is changing very quickly, so you must be active in your quest to find the best diet for him.

Healthy Puppy Supplements to Keep Him Active

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If you’re worried that the food you’re feeding your young dog isn’t up to par with your standards, puppy supplements will do wonders in putting that extra nutrition into his body. A puppy is much more active than an adult dog, meaning he puts much more stress on his body. There are supplement to help battle sore joints and increase mobility, such as Elk Velvet Antler.

Wapiti Labs enhanced Elk Velvet Antler formula for dogs in the first stage of their life supports connective tissue health, maintains joint mobility, supports a healthy immune system and supports normal function of the kidneys and liver. Elk velvet antler is an entirely renewable health booster for puppies. It has been used as an all-natural dietary supplement and health treatment throughout the Eastern world for more than 2,000 years. We use an on-location extraction process that gets the most from this incredibly beneficial resource that can be used by animals to promote strength, stamina and overall health.Because your puppy is so active, he may need some assistance with recuperating from a long day of play or activity. That’s why Wapiti Labs created our Recuperate Herbal supplement, which was designed to naturally reduce your puppy’s recovery time. If your puppy seems weak or tired at the end of the day, this concentrated liquid formula will maintain healthy tissue, encourage blood circulation, reduce recovery time and support normal physical and mental performance. Our Recuperate liquid supplement is a traditional Eastern Medicine herbal formula that supports the natural healing process, the body’s normal inflammation response and normal recovery time.

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